Formed in 2024, drummer / composer Tommy Whiteside’s instrumental jazz combo puts original hand-written music in front of a rotation of some of the best jazz musicians in the region. The combo explores the outer reaches of harmony, blending influence from bebop to chamber music to free-jazz into a dynamic, eclectic, and sometimes abrasive sonic tapestry of improvisation.

“The Majician” will be the third original instrumental album by Tommy Whiteside since 2024. Recorded the day after “Xanadu”, the album highlights the well-oiled rhythm section and allows space for alto player Nathaniel Keller to express his voice. Heavy swing, neurotic freedom, and captivating beauty mark the dynamic corners of “The Majician”, whose influences range from chamber music to the avant garde, with a heavy dose of hard bop.

Whiteside met Jackie Sandberg (piano) at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle circa 2010. The rest of the ensemble met in Roseburg, playing in different funk, soul, and jazz outfits. Matt Krepky (tenor saxophone) teaches at Jean Bechtel Music School and plays with Roseburg’s FunkShui. Nathaniel Keller (alto saxophone) is currently studying at Berklee School of Music in Boston, and Judah Sensabaugh at University of North Texas.

Tommy Whiteside is a drummer, composer, songwriter, and sound engineer based in Roseburg, Oregon. After graduating from Cornish College of the Arts with a bachelor’s degree in music composition in 2012, he kicked around Seattle, playing in multiple projects both as a side-man and bandleader until moving home to Southern Oregon in 2017. Now he is a founding member of Roseburg rock ‘n’ roll power-trio Widespread Haze, the drummer of the Umpqua Community College Big Horn Jazz Band, and full-time production manager at The Rosebud Theatre. This endeavor into instrumental music acts as his diary, combining his love of jazz and improvisation with his calling for community engagement and opportunity.